The histostereological hepato-teratogenic effects of varied doses of ethanol in albino rats (Rattus novegicus)

Background: Ethanol has been shown to interfere with the normal development of the fetal liver when exposed prenatally. Although data exist on the teratogenic effects of ethanol to the fetal viscera, data on the histostereological effects of ethanol on the fetal liver when administered in varying doses and at different gestational periods is lacking. Method: A static-group experimental study design was adopted. In this study, 30 female albino rat dams weighing between 200 – 230gm from a pure colony breed were used as the experimental model. These 30 rats were broadly organized into four main study groups based on the ethanol dose namely: – Control group, low ethanol group (LEG), medium ethanol group (MEG) and high ethanol group (HEG). Each ethanol group was further sub grouped per the trimesters namely: – trimester one (GD1-GD20), trimester two (GD7-GD20), and trimester three subgroup (GD14-GD20) each comprised of 3 rats. Groups I served as expectant control that received food and water ad libitum only while Groups II (LEG), III (MEG) and IV (HEG) received 2g/kgbwt, 3.5g/kgbwt and 5g/kgbwt of ethanol respectively daily via oral gavage. All the rats were humanly sacrificed on the 20th day of gestation. A total of 90 fetuses had their liver harvested, fixed in 10% formaldehyde and processed for stereological analysis. Data was collected using structured datasheets and photomicrographs. The data was then analyzed using STEPnizer software and SPSS version 23. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), followed by Tukey’s post hoc multiple comparison tests were done. The results were expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) for all values. The findings were then presented in form of tables. Results: A significant increase (P=0.001) in the total liver volume and volume densities of the portal triad, sinusoids and hepatocytes were observed. In conclusion, the present study established that ethanol consumption during pregnancy has varied histostereological hepato-teratogenic effects in time and dose dependent manner, therefore expectant mothers need to abstain from ethanol consumption any time during pregnancy.